Thursday, March 26, 2015

Hi loves, I wanted to make a quick post on a dupe I found tonight while going through my collection!I have the NARS Contour Blush in "Paloma" and picked up a Wet n Wild Contouring Palette a couple months back, and realized tonight that they are basically identical!Here is a picture (I posted this one on my Instagram - link on the side of my blog):

So in the swatch picture; the Wet n Wild Contouring Palette in "Caramel Toffee" is on the top, and the NARS Contour Blush in "Paloma" is on the bottom. (In the other picture, the Wet n Wild is the round pan, of course).So the lighter colors were a bit harder to get to show up, but the NARS as you can see, shows up a tiny bit, where as the Wet n Wild didn't at all even with a heavy swatch. Texture wise, they are both pretty similar, although the NARS feels just slightly more smooth to me. Both pretty pigmented, but the lighter color in the NARS is a tad lighter. Overall, I think this is a great affordable dupe if you've been wanting to try the NARS Contour Blush in Paloma!Hope you liked this, and I will post more dupes as I find them! xoxoSamy Rae

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Hi loves!So this is my planner for the week. I figured I would start doing weekly posts just to go over how I organized for the week. I might combine weeks if I feel like I don't have much to show but wanted to post this week because I added a new meal plan feature which has helped me a lot!

I like to focus on my tasks for the week, usually consisting of beauty routines, errands, school, and home tasks such as cooking, cleaning, etc. However, I have started writing down my meal plans for each day, or the possibility of meals I can make. This really helps in utilizing all of the food I already have, and narrowing down my grocery lists to make sure I'm not going over budget. I don't do anything special, but I do make a list outside of my planner on meals I can make, then I decide what days I can make what then write them down. This has really made my weeks easier in terms of eating out, cooking, cleaning, etc. I can fit my meal planning around my other plans so that I can make sure I have plenty of time to prep, cook, defrost anything from the freezer, and so on. So here is a break down of this week's planner and how I decorated. I hope this helps give you some ideas on organizing your time and having some fun while doing so! :)

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

So this week's post, at least the first one, I wanted to focus a little on something home/life related! I wanted to show my planner and explain it, and how I organize each week. If you want weekly pictures of my planner and full shots of each week's layout and monthly pics, follow me on Instagram! I post a new one every Sunday or Monday!https://instagram.com/heyitssamyrae/

After everyone started talking about the Erin Condren planners I really wanted to get one! But after seeing the price of one, I was just not going to invest that into some paper in a notebook! So I looked around and really only having Walmart as an option, I ended up with a planner from there! It is a bit bigger, but I actually like it (the standard size of a normal spiral notebook)Here is the planner (They had one other color choice, and the price was around $7)

The brand is "mint green" and it is 60% recycled with soy-based ink, which is always a plus! It has plenty of room for notes in the front and back, plus extra features like; contact information, yearly goals, a world map, and more!Here is how I have mine decorated so far, for January, February and March! I use an array of washi tape, decorative duck tape, magazine cut-outs, metallic pens, sticky notes, sticky paper, and really anything I can find that is in the color scheme I want for the month!

I absolutely love my planner and planning for each week! I write down all of my errands, "to-dos", meal plans, shopping lists, and other ideas before I put it into my planner. I just make a small list according to each day, then put it in my planner in a way that I like. I like to leave some space as well in case I need to add anything. The last picture which is this week for March, is my favorite set up I think! I thought I liked the more busy look, but I find that leaving more white space but using metallic hearts as bullet points makes it look more organized and pretty. I buy all of my stickers/tapes, etc. from places like Dollar Stores and discount stores such as Big Lots. I basically look everywhere I can to find new things. I had a ton of old magazines that I cut up into monthly cut-outs to fit each months color schemes. It took forever, but it was worth it, and I just keep the cut-outs in labeled envelopes. The planner is fun, it helps me un-wind at the end of the week, while also keeping me organized for the week ahead. I definitely recommend if you are an artsy person but lazy, to get one and start planning! It has really helped me to stay on track with my weekly and monthly goals!xoxoSamy